PeerJ fills open access publishing gap for University of Amsterdam with low cost and minimal administration solution.

The University of Amsterdam wanted its researchers to publish their articles at a low
cost per author and also to partake in the peer-review process of publications.

How PeerJ helped

PeerJ supplied an Institutional Publishing Plan for 100 researchers allowing them to publish one PeerJ article every year

Automated process – authors are validated by email so no additional authentication required

Library easily monitors the usage of publishing plans

Cost effective and low maintenance solution

Why is Open Access important to your institution?

The Library of the University of Amsterdam believes that the dissemination of knowledge
is essential for the progress of scientific research. It is in the interest of the
scientific community that research results are made freely available to everyone.
By publishing research results ‘open access’, i.e. freely accessible to all, the
dissemination of knowledge to a broad audience becomes much more efficient.
Publishing open access also aids knowledge valorization as it eases access to research
results for (up-and-coming) businesses and individuals. In order to provide UvA
researchers with opportunities to publish in open access the University Library
has decided to support this innovative and promising PeerJ initiative.

What is it about the PeerJ model that interests you?

With regards to open access, the University of Amsterdam encourages its researchers to
publish in open access journals (or journals that become freely available over time)
and to retain the copyright for their publication. Additionally we encourage them to
consider sitting on the editorial board of an open access journal and to review manuscripts
for open access publications if they are asked to do so. With PeerJ our researchers
can both publish their articles at a low cost per author, and partake in the peer-review
process of publications submitted by fellow researchers. The possibility of open peer review
that is available with PeerJ is also appealing as it encourages transparency both the
review process and how an article has come to its final form.

What kind of arrangement have you entered into with PeerJ?

The University of Amsterdam has pre-purchased 100 Basic Individual Publishing Plans.
So when an UvA author needs a PeerJ Publication Plan (either before or after Acceptance)
the University will automatically pay the cost of a Basic Publication Plan.
A Basic Publication Plan will cover the processing charges for the first publication,
and will allow our researchers to publish one PeerJ article every year at no additional
cost and will remain theirs for life.

How is the fund being administered and monitored at the University??

The electronic publishing specialist at the University of Amsterdam is the main
contact for questions from researchers interested in publishing with PeerJ,
but also for researchers who have already obtained a plan. The authors themselves
can request the plans either while they are submitting their publication, or if
they submitted their manuscript with a free PeerJ publishing plan, after it has
been accepted. As the process is automated, and researchers are validated based
on their email address, the electronic publishing specialist does not have to
get involved which makes it a smoother and easier process for the researcher.
An automated email informs us in turn that a researcher has requested funds,
so we can monitor how many publishing plans are still available.

What problem does the PeerJ Arrangement solve for you?

For us it is convenient that the PeerJ arrangement more or less manages itself. It
does not require much manpower or time to set up the agreement, and from there on our
researchers can apply for a publishing plan and automatically receive it without the
library functioning as a middleman. That PeerJ is well organized and affordable makes
it a good fit for us.

Institutional plan inquiry - for librarians and university administrators

If you're a librarian or university administrator then let us know you're interested in setting up a central fund. Or let us know if you'd like to set up an institutional page to send authors your way.